Letters to the editor

Petitions for eliminating red-light tickets in Hernando County were attracting scores of eager supporters signing their names right next to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office mobile command center at the entrance of the county fair gates.

It is fair to say that a great number of red lights are run throughout the county, causing terrible crashes at dozens of intersections. It is the community of Brooksville, notorious for being No. 1 in the state for red-light tickets, that people lined up to sign.

People are nervous in their driving habits. Speed and road rage are everywhere for people impatient with casual drivers committed to the law who slow toward intersections and who drive below the speed limit given road conditions.

Generally, it's guys in pickups who race through red lights flaunting the law intentionally. Often it's women who speed out of control weaving through traffic and sounding horns to the rest of us shouting nasty invectives for us to get out of the way as many observers will note.

Cameras would do well snapping photos of speeders who think driving 10 mph over the speed limit posted is still within their rights of the road along Mariner, State Road 50, Northcliff and Spring Hill Drive. These arterial sectors of the county are hazardous to safe drivers observing the law.

Set the cameras for speeders and revenues will triple over and over and set cameras with fair, longer yellow caution lights at critical intersections in the county and revenues for red light infractions can be justified for those of us who do observe traffic conditions.

Deron Mikal

Brooksville, FL

Travelers beware

When traveling and you buy travel insurance, check to see what you are covered for as it may be nothing. We had such an incident on our cruise to the Mediterranean last October.

Nine days into the cruise, my wife was getting off a bus in Barcelona, Spain when she lost her footing and fell. The result was 10 days in the hospital in Spain.

Everyone I spoke with said the same thing: Your travel, hotel and meals are all covered by your insurance. That is travel insurance.

When we got home I applied for loss of time on the cruise, hotel, meals and travel. We were covered by Travel Insured.

After about three to four months waiting for what I thought would be satisfactory settlement, my air fare alone back home was $3,100. We received a pittance for coverage and advised my hotel, food, travel expenses and air fare were not covered.

I will make sure that Travel Insured will never receive a penny of my money for their insurance in the future.

Check your policy before paying to make sure you are covered. We were a group of 14 that took the cruise and all took travel insurance with Travel Insured.

After hearing what happened to us, all said the same thing: No more insurance with Travel Insured.

Llyod Gorzynski

Spring Hill

Where are the cops when you need them?

I take my grandkids to school on Powell Road every morning and after I drop them off I return home on Powell Road eastbound around 9 a.m. Traffic is usually backed up for better than 1?4 mile between Suncoast Parkway and California Street with people trying to drop their children off at school. These people can't pull to the side of the highway out of traffic because of the posted signs that say "no stopping, parking or standing" for fear of getting a ticket. My problem isn't waiting in traffic or I would take a different route home. My problem is while waiting, several cars will cross the double yellow line and pass all of us at over the 35 mph speed limit to get around before they meet an oncoming car. These people not only are taking a chance of being in an accident but if it happens next to me then I will also be involved. I can understand why there are no police in this area. They know the situation and don't know how to solve the problem so they ignore this area at this time of day. There will be an accident here one day and I just hope it doesn't happen next to me. I suggest if you want to prevent this from happening, have police in this area part of the time. A few tickets for crossing a double yellow line, speeding and putting other people and their children in danger would get these law breakers to start taking a different route or sit in line like the rest of us.

Walter Searle

Brooksville

No funding problem at Air Force JROTC

I read the letter that appeared in the April 13 Hernando Today section regarding the Air Force JROTC program at Springstead High School and the cut in funding. I do agree that the students in Air Force Junior ROTC do make an extra commitment to maintain high standards and desire the respect and support of the community, but the funding for the programs have not been cut as badly as the letter would have you believe.

I am not sure what was said at Springstead's Awards Program that led people to believe the funding has been cut for the AFJROTC high school programs. There was a cut in operational and maintenance funding (office supplies, name tags, etc.) but the program received the same amount of money for uniforms, food for field days or trips that was received in previous years, and curriculum material was not impacted. If you are asking yourself how the writer knows this, let me share with you. My husband is the Senior Air Force JROTC Instructor at Hernando High School and is completing his 19th year there.

They received funds for new uniforms, the dry cleaning of uniforms for the color guard and drill team before each drill meet they attended. This year, Hernando attended four drill meets and was able to provide breakfast for cadets and give them money for dinner as we headed back to Brooksville. I chaperoned each of the events, took Color Guard uniforms to the cleaners and picked them up as I had done in past years. The Air Force is still providing funds to pay the same portion of the instructor's salary as they always have. Possibly there was a misunderstanding about funds for the program and I hope this clears up the matter. To be soliciting contributions and saying they are not getting funds is a black eye to the JROTC programs and the U.S. Government.

Sally W. Crigger

Spring Hill, FL

Here's an idea for voter I.D.

Well, here he goes again. POTUS Hussein rallying against voter I.D. cards. The time has come to inform his most unholiness that as true as it is that every citizen has the right to vote, it is equally true that every citizen has the right to know that whomever casts said vote is legally entitled to do so. If someone has the means to travel to and from a polling place then that person has the means to travel to and from a DMV station to get an I.D. Now if that is too much of an inconvenience then just maybe they're not all that interested in participating in the process.

Ok, I can see the argument, so how's this for a solution. Establish sites to acquire an ID at all city halls and, now here's a novel idea, at all welfare benefit distribution centers. It seems logical since most of those who are crying hardship to get an I.D. are those who are receiving those benefits or how about this: they can apply online for the I.D. The online thing could be a bit dodgy and could lead to multiple applications from the same person, but by linking name to social security number could alleviate that or an automatic quick background check trigger could ease those worries.

So to fat mouth king Hussein I say: we the people want voter IDs so shut up with all the victimization crap and be president to all Americans not those worthless slackers who are addicted to the welfare give away state.